Horny Toads and Drones- US Army Aerial Surveillance in Southern Colorado

There are quite a variety of creatures here in the canyon including the droll and charming horny toad (genus Phrynosoma). I was enjoying an encounter with one of these little critters the other day in the upper meadow where the goats and sheep has settled in for a late afternoon sojourn attended by their flock guardians when I heard the sound of what seemed to be one of the random small aircraft which occasionally overfly the canyon. Upon lifting my head from contemplating my little friend, I was surprised to witness not one of the usual small craft, but something much smaller and cruising only a few hundred feet above the ridge of the eastern canyon wall. Much to my growing incredulity I was witnessing something I had previously only heard of and seen only in photographs on the internet-a unmanned aerial drone. Being only a few moments in sight as I observed the craft before it disappeared over the canyon wall, I struggled to believe what I was seeing, an actual UAV or Unmanned Aerial Vehicle in flight over the ranch. 

After this singular and disturbing experience settled in a bit I immediately began thinking about the obvious and only possible source of this military foray into our mountain fastness, the US Army's Pinyon Canyon Maneuver Site and The Butts Army Airfield located therein.With the presence of military drones in American skies an established fact, it has been estimated that some 36,000 of these aerial surveillance and potentially armed vehicles are presently operational ranging in size from an insect to those monstrosities equipped with Hellfire missiles presently raining down terror upon the unfortunate residents of the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia. While the relative intricacies and extent of drone usage remain far beyond the scope of this article, I decided to assay the possible presence and use of drones emanating from the PCMS some 40 miles northeast of here.  According to the Fort Carson document which is largely regarded as "an environmental assessment" we have the following, apparently right on schedule. (bold emphasis) 

Future Projects at Fort Carson
CAB associated construction including control tower, bulk fuel facility, hot refuel point,
CEP, and infrastructure
FY 2012-2017
Battle Command Training Center FY 2012
Chapel at Fort Carson TBD
Convoy Skill Trainer FY 2010
Special Forces Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (TUAV) Facility FY 2012-2013

According to the Fort Carson Combat Aviation Brigade Stationing Implementation, as of July 2012 there were four types of UAVs operational at the Butts Army Airfield.

I immediately recognized the RQ-7 Shadow 200 as the airborne vehicle which I had personally witnessed in "low-level" flight over the canyon.

The implementation study affirms the singular "low level" flight pattern which again, just from the standpoint of altitude, rules out the possibility that this was a private or commercial aircraft, which are required to fly at much higher altitudes.

"The three modes of terrain flight are low-level, contour, and nap-of-the-earth (NOE).
Continuous NOE or contour flight is unusual as terrain and vegetation vary. Normally, there is a transition from one mode to another as the situation dictates. Modes of terrain
flight are defined as: 

 o NOE flight. NOE flight is conducted at varying airspeeds as close to the earth’s surface as vegetation and obstacles permit. 

o Contour flight. Contour flight is conducted at low altitudes conforming to the
earth’s contours. It is characterized by varying airspeeds and altitude and
dictated by terrain and obstacles.
o Low-level flight. Aviators perform low-level flight at constant altitude and
airspeed dictated by threat avoidance." 

It is interesting to note that the army's own protocols as outlined in the implementation study suggest that although there are no established flight corridors between Fort Carson and its satellite at the PSMS, there is an aerial operational grid dubbed Route Hawk which apparently delineates the flight patterns generally observed. I adduce this here only in reference to the fact that the drone I witnessed was easily 30 miles or more outside the Route Hawk circumference. The Army has agreements with the Bureau of Land Management for the usage of national forests such as the Pike and San Isabella national forests for training purposes. The very near proximity of BLM land here suggests that the RQ-7 was on just such a "training mission".

 Given the track record of the Army in the past decade concerning the very controversial proposals to exponentially expand the PCMS to millions of acres not to speak of the vast overflight training area being proposed and the considerable degree of public opposition to those plans, it is not surprising that we have Army UAVs casually prowling the skies of Southern Colorado. The unprecedented militarization of our nation and its previously sacrosanct civilian and domestic spheres have come to be generally unquestioned and necessary components of our national security state. The implications of drone surveillance, especially given the recent scandals swirling around NSA spying, are a significant threat to constitutional guarantees to privacy and freedom of movement and speech if not outright government coercion and intimidation.

The question remains why a military aerial vehicle described by the Army as "a tactical reconnaissance UAV for ground maneuver forces" and which was used extensively throughout the Middle East and Iraq in tactical engagements is now patrolling the skies of Southern Colorado. With the military actively war gaming "large scale economic chaos" and "civil unrest" and the Department of Homeland Security's purchase of billions of rounds of ammunition, it has become more than obvious to many of us that the "chickens are coming home to roost" and the decades long unfettered and largely unopposed US international military hegemony is soon to come to a "theatre" near you.